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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 12, No. 10
March 7, 2008
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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW
Medicine Web site, visit:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/Global/NewsAndEvents/somnews/index.htm
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This week’s news:
* Zebrafish provide useful screening tool for genes and drugs that protect against hearing loss, UW researchers find
* Adam Drewnowski, director of UW Center for Obesity Research, receives $1.5 million grant to study further how geographic and economic factors can cause disparities in obesity rates
* Vitamin supplements do not decrease risk of lung cancer, and some may even increase risk, according to UW study
* Faculty development workshop on March 18 to focus on physician self-care
* Maxine Hayes, state health officer and UW clinical faculty member, honored by American Public Health Association and University at Buffalo
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ZEBRAFISH PROVIDE USEFUL SCREENING TOOL IN HEARING-LOSS RESEARCH
UW researchers have developed a research method that relies on a zebrafish’s lateral line -- the faint line running down each side of a fish that enables it to sense its surroundings -- to quickly screen for genes and chemical compounds that protect against hearing loss from some medications. The method is detailed in a study published in the Feb. 29 issue of the journal PLoS Genetics.
When people are exposed to some antibiotics and chemotherapy agents, the sensory structures in the inner ear, called hair cells, can be irreversibly damaged, resulting in hearing loss and balance problems. Such medications are called ototoxic. People vary widely in their susceptibility to these agents, as well as to damage caused by other chemical agents, loud sounds and aging.
To find out why this is so, UW researchers Edwin Rubel, professor of otolaryngology, and David Raible, professor of biological structure, developed a screening strategy that uses hair cells in the lateral line of zebrafish larvae to signal how hair cells in a person’s inner ear might respond under similar conditions. Hair cells are named for small bristly extensions, or stereocilia, jutting from their tops. Movement of fluid, which may be triggered by sound vibrations in the inner ear or changes in water pressure in the fish’s environment, causes the stereocilia to tilt to one side, generating an electrical impulse that travels to the brain.
The researchers induced random genetic mutations in lines of zebrafish, and gave those fish ototoxic medicines. They then identified which lines of fish were resistant to the ototoxic medicine, and identified which genes in those fish families protected against hair-cell damage. Of those genes they identified, one of them is found in other vertebrates, including humans.
The researchers did a similar test to determine if some chemical compounds could protect hair cells from ototoxic medicines. Out of more than 10,000 possible compounds, two similar chemicals provided some protection of hair cells in the fish. One of those compounds was later found to protect hair cells in the inner ear of a mouse, indicating that the compound may also protect other mammals.
The authors suggest that their work could offer an efficient way to search for potential drugs and drug targets for treating hearing loss and balance disorders.
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PROJECT TO EXAMINE GEOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC DISPARITIES IN OBESITY
Adam Drewnowski, director of the UW Center for Obesity Research and a professor of epidemiology and adjunct professor of medicine, has received a new $1.5 million grant to study the geographic and economic indicators of obesity. The grant has been awarded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, one of the National Institutes of Health.
The grant will fund a study looking further at how physical, social, and economic environments influence dietary choices and in turn contribute to disparities in obesity rates. Drewnowski and his colleagues have previously found that people with lower socio-economic status, such as those who live in disadvantaged areas, are more likely to be obese than people with higher socio-economic status. Many researchers now believe that energy-dense foods, such as those with lots of fats and sugars, can contribute to obesity in poor communities because those foods are cheaper overall and more accessible in those communities.
This project will include a telephone survey of about 2,000 adults in King County, Wash., to acquire data on socio-economic status, shopping and eating habits, food spending, obesity, and health. The researchers plan to use detailed geographic data to look at each respondent's food sources, local food choices and prices, socio-economic status, and other variables. The study will examine further whether a person's physical and economic access to food sources can predict the energy density of their diet and their risk of obesity.
Drewnowski added that this study fits in well with the aims of the new King County Equity and Social Justice Initiative, which was announced last month by Ron Sims, the county executive. The initiative hopes to address disparities in the health, well-being, education, and economic opportunities between the county's poorest communities and its more affluent areas. In announcing the project, Sims discussed the higher rates of diabetes and other health problems seen in the county's poorest areas and its ethnic minority populations. For more information about the Equity and Social Justice Initiative, visit:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity
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VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS DO NOT PROTECT AGAINST LUNG CANCER
The vitamin supplements folate and vitamins C and E do not protect against lung cancer, according to a UW study published this month in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The study also found a slightly higher risk of lung cancer among people taking vitamin E supplements.
The study looked at a cohort of more than 77,000 people age 50 to 76 who had enrolled in the Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) Study here in Washington. The project was led by Christopher Slatore, a fellow in the Department of Medicine's Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. The researchers determined the participants' rate of developing lung cancer over a four-year period, and compared that to their current and past vitamin usage, whether they were smokers, and other demographic and medical characteristics.
Out of that group, 521 people developed lung cancer in the study period. The researchers found the expected associations between developing cancer and being older, having a smoking history, and a family history of the disease. However, they also found a small but significant association between taking supplemental vitamin E and developing the disease.
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FACULTY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP TO FOCUS ON PHYSICIAN SELF-CARE
Physician self-care is the topic of a new faculty development workshop coming up later this month at the UW. The School of Medicine's Office of Faculty Development and the Department of Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics are sponsoring the free, half-day workshop, which will be held from 8:30 to noon, Tuesday, March 18, in Room 316R of the South Campus Center.
The workshop will focus on how to handle multiple demands without getting burned out. It will include discussions and experience of techniques such as biofeedback, meditation, and self-hypnosis. Faculty presenters for the event are Ron Schneeweiss, professor emeritus of family medicine; Claudia Finkelstein, clinical associate professor of medicine in General Internal Medicine; and Frank Vincenzi, professor of pharmacology.
The workshop is open to all School of Medicine faculty, and registration is required. To register, visit:
http://www.meded.washington.edu/facdev.html
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MAXINE HAYES, STATE HEALTH OFFICER AND UW FACULTY MEMBER, RECEIVES HONORS
Maxine Hayes, the state health officer for the Washington State Department of Health and a UW clinical faculty member, has been honored recently by the University at Buffalo and the American Public Health Association (APHA). Hayes is a clinical professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine and a clinical professor of health services in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
Hayes has received the 2007 Helen Rodriguez-Trias Social Justice Award from the APHA. The award is named for the late Rodriguez-Trias, a pediatrician and past president of the association who worked to meet the health needs of under-served and disadvantaged people, especially women and children. Hayes was honored for her work to help vulnerable populations and those people who are under-served by the medical system, especially women and children. She has given a voice to many issues of importance to disadvantaged groups, including hunger, pediatric AIDS, health care for the homeless, smoking bans, child labor and pregnancy planning.
Hayes will also be honored by the University at Buffalo, part of the State University of New York system, with an honorary doctorate in science. She will be recognized at the 2008 commencement exercises at the university. Hayes earned her medical degree from the University at Buffalo in 1973.
She may be reached at maxine.hayes@doh.wa.gov
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Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2008. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
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